Complete the sentence: The evidence supports the conclusion that the experiment was ______ controlled.

• A. poorly
• B. highly
• C. fully
• D. adequately

Answer: (A)

The important idea here is describing how well the experiment was managed. When the evidence suggests the controls weren’t good, the natural way to express that is with a word meaning not well. Poorly fits perfectly because “poorly controlled” is a standard way to say that the control of variables was inadequate, inviting concerns about confounding factors or unreliable results. The other options imply good or sufficient control—highly or fully controlled, adequately controlled—which would not align with the idea that the evidence supports a poor level of control. In short, the sentence is signaling weak experimental control, and “poorly” is the natural adverb to express that.